Newsletter
Sergio Manrique, re-elected Chair of the MCAA Andean-Caribbean Chapter and recent recipient of the MCAA Outstanding Contributor Award, discusses fostering strong connections and promoting MCAA in the region.
Bionote
I am the Chair of the MCAA Andean-Caribbean Chapter and former MSCA PhD Fellow in RUNIN Project at Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain) and University of Stavanger (Norway). Currently, I am based in Colombia, where I serve as a Delivery Lead in the IT Consulting sector. With the background as an Industrial Engineer, I am also specialized in Managerial and Organizational Control Systems, and I hold a Magister in Management, Organization and Business Economics. As a Spanish-Colombian Project & Delivery Manager, Consultant and Researcher, I bring over 10 years of work experience at both private and academic sectors in Europe and Latin America (Latam). My professional and research interests lie in IT, Innovation and Business Economics.
Why did you decide to run (again) as Chair of the Chapter?
As the first chair and one of the founders of the MCAA Andean-Caribbean chapter, I am deeply interested in keeping our chapter/ community alive and active. Having received the latest MCAA Outstanding Contributor award, I feel compelled to remain engaged and actively involved with the MCAA and its Andean-Caribbean community. I look forward to fostering collaboration and joint initiatives between our chapter and other working groups and regional chapters, especially in LATAM, to continue promoting MCAA’s growth and impact.
What will be the objectives of the Chapter under your tenure?
Our main goal is to continue building and strengthening the community of former and current MSCA fellows linked to our Region. There are still many fellows we can reach and attract. We also need to ensure that there is active participation and support from its members, which is crucial for the chapter’s continuity in the mid to long term.
Another important dimension of our work as a chapter is the promotion and dissemination of research funding and cooperation opportunities in Europe for Andean-Caribbean citizens and residents, especially in the framework of Horizon Europe and MSCA. For this, we have actively collaborated with Euraxess LAC and the MSCA NCP and will continue doing so.
Finally, I am keen to continue working towards cooperation among the different MCAA chapters in Latin America to collectively work for and represent the MCAA’s interests and goals.
What are your plans for the development of the Chapter?
We need to reassemble the core work group of the chapter to ensure everyone involved is active and committed. As a transnational chapter, we also want to ensure there is fair representation across the different geographies we cover.
Given our close collaboration with Euraxess LAC and the MSCA NCP, we are frequently involved in activities aimed at promoting scientific opportunities in Europe, by providing testimonials and helping to disseminate information about Horizon Europe and MSCA. We also want to promote and encourage scientific cooperation between LATAM and Europe more broadly.
Do you already have plans for events and activities? Can you tell us some?
There are always various ideas for organising events and activities, and we must try to prioritise wisely to ensure relevance and impact to our community. We want to start having more frequent meetings with all members and tidy up our communication strategy. Being a transnational chapter, holding onsite meetings with the chapter core team is challenging, but it would be nice to try to do so.
In terms of activities already in the pipeline, there is an upcoming webinar on how to define research topics to stimulate the LATAM-Europe knowledge exchange in the framework of MSCA and Horizon Europe opportunities in which a speaker from Euraxess LAC will offer us an overview of past success cases. We hope this will be the first of various webinars aimed at cultivating, motivating and guiding academics in our region to take part in Horizon Europe and MSCA opportunities.
Finally, having hosted last year’s MCAA LATAM Conference, we are excited to participate in and contribute to the 2025 edition, which will be held in Mexico.
What is the role of the Chapter within the MCAA community?
The Andean-Caribbean Chapter encourages local networking. It recruits and attracts new members to the Association and enhances the image of the MCAA within the Andean-Caribbean region.
In general, we represent the MCAA’s interests by attracting and gathering former and current MSCA fellows associated with our region to promote networking and collaboration among ourselves, and by showcasing and disseminating MSCA opportunities among academics in our region.
How will you cooperate with other Chapters and Working Groups?
There are many activity ideas and topics which are of interest across the Latam region and beyond, especially related to promoting research funding and cooperation opportunities with Europe. We need to continue finding synergies and organising joint events and activities for collectively representing and building the MCAA community.
It is also crucial to seek synergies and collaboration with Working Groups like Communication and Research Funding, as they can play a key role in shaping and organising joint activities.
What would you say to members who are considering joining the Chapter?
The MCAA Latam chapters make up a great community to be part of, full of great people and amazing opportunities. At the MCAA Andean-Caribbean Chapter, we are always keen to hear new ideas and proposals for enhancing our community and organising activities/events. You all can be sure there will always be willingness from the chapter’s core group to welcome and integrate anyone interested in contributing.
Our aim is to connect as many former and current MSCA fellows associated with our Region as possible, to build a stronger and more sustainable community.
If you want to be a part of a community which will help you improve your scientific and professional network, and in which you will have the chance of shaping and materialising ideas for enhancing the scientific cooperation between Europe and LATAM, then our Chapter is the right place to be.
Sergio Manrique
Linkedin
Chair of the MCAA Andean-Caribbean Chapter
andean-caribbean.chapter@mariecuriealumni.eu
@sergioman90